Wildscreen festival
Nairobi 2023

Building on the success of our 2022 Festival Hub and with support from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, our 2-day Nairobi Festival, celebrated one of the most actively filmed parts of our natural world.

Bringing talent and storytellers from across the globe, to the heart of wildlife film.

“It really has felt like a significant moment for African wildlife storytelling. In a sense, it’s like a seismic shift, and things are now rumbling; the energy is there, and it’s now for us to take that energy and run with it and put it to good use. We have creative thinking; how can we get our films funded? What kind of platforms can we put them on? Let’s think outside of the box, let’s look at small-scale films because we’re all working for one goal, and if we can all do it together, then we’ll really make that difference.” – Festival Host, Jahawi Bertolli

Our Impact

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Over 200 festival attendees, including emerging talent, bursary recipients and industry figureheads.

From 12 countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, UK, US, Botswana, France, Zambia, India, South Africa, Rwanda, Spain and Sierra Lione.

54 Mentees matched and introduced to a mentor through our mentorship programme.

“It was great, amazing platform to showcase, learn, be inspired on the beauty and richness of our motherland, Africa and all the heritage within the continent, how we can work together to restore and conserve our heritage, also how to tell stories of our nature, culture etc on our own terms.”

“What an incredible event: lifting up voices, telling fresh stories, celebrating the game-changers, and making the industry a better and more inclusive place for everyone!”

“My experience at Wildscreen Nairobi was magical. It was a dream come true for me to be in the presence of such great talent and renowned conservationists, filmmakers and storytellers. I showed up curious and I left with lots of information, connections and ideas. The future is bright!”

Our Aims -

Celebrate the role of Kenya and Africa in the International Wildlife Film Industry

Elevate African Storytellers within the Global Wildlife Storytelling Industry, increasing representation within creative and editorial roles

Support the pipeline of Indigenous Africa Storytelling Talent, providing Mentorship, Networking opportunities and demystifying the business of Wildlife Film

Capacity-build and create and support the growing Industry Infrastructure within Africa

Why Nairobi?

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Only 4% of Wildscreen Festival delegates were from African Countries.

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Over 25% of our 2022 Film Award submissions, feature African Wildlife.

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Yet only 7% are made in Africa.

Our Programme

The Wildscreen Festival Nairobi Programme focused on 4 key elements:

Craft

Storytelling, Developing Techniques, Cinematography, Post-Production & Editing

Business

Networking, Collaborating, Co-Productions, Commissioning, Demystifying Distribution

Talent

Talent, EDI, Indigenous Communities

Impact

Conservation, Biodiversity, Climate Change

Speakers

We had many outstanding speakers at this year's Wildscreen Festival Nairobi, all with important stories to be heard!

Wild Pitch

After receiving over 80 applications, we are delighted to announce our 3 Wild Pitch Winners!

1st Place – Anthony Onyango and Fedelis Kyalo – Matata and Friends on Safari

2nd Place – $6,000 – Jigar Ganatra – Between Two Worlds

3rd Place – $3,000 – Trishala Naidu and Devin Trull – Buoyant: A Turtle Tale

A huge congratulations to all our winners and to everyone who pitched!

A special thank you to our judges Janet Han Vissering, Jonny Keeling, Sreya Biswas, Loise Makato and to our moderator Pauline Kyalo.

Wild Pitch is kindly made possible by National Geographic.

Bursaries

Application Deadline:

Meet our Festival Advisory Board

Our festival was curated by representatives from the global natural history film and TV industry, conservation organisations and African wildlife storytellers.

Asif Choudhury

Deputy Permanent Representative to UNEP and UN Habitat – British High Commission, Nairobi

Caroline Cox

Production Executive – BBC Studios Natural History Unit

Chloe Sarosh

Executive Producer – Wildstar Films Ltd

Fiona Tande

Founder, Director – Pridelands Wildlife Film Festival

Janet Han Vissering

SVP, Development & Production – National Geographic Channel

Jeff Wilson

Director – Silverback Films

Nashipae Orumoy

Director, Strategic Communications and Marketing – Africa Wildlife Foundation

Michael Masheti

Production and Liaison Officer – Kenya Film Commission

Dr Paula Kahumbu

CEO – WildlifeDirect

Pauline Kyalo

Assistant Film Producer – WildlifeDirect

Richard Madeley

Head of Sustainability – VI Rental

Sreya Biswas

Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning – BBC

Volunteering

Volunteering applications now open for Wildscreen Festival Nairobi!

We’re looking for friendly, enthusiastic and committed individuals to join the Wildscreen team to help to deliver the event.

As a Wildscreen Festival Nairobi volunteer, you’ll gain hands-on event experience, develop news skills and meet people working in natural world storytelling.

As a thank you for volunteering, you will receive:

A letter of reference
A free ticket to the alternative day of the Festival that they are not volunteering on
A Wildscreen Festival Nairobi branded t-shirt
In-person volunteers will receive 1 meal per shift (Day Shift)

Deadline to apply: Thursday 1st June, 12 EAT

Programme suggestion box

We would love to hear from you! Alongside our fantastic Festival Advisory Board, we are welcoming suggestions from our creative audience for content that you would like to see and experience at our festival.

Please complete this short form here to share your programme content ideas!

Festival Partners

Headline Sponsor:

Sponsors:

Supporters:

Session Sponsors: